We've had Zee with us for a week now. And during this week, I've heard several times, "She's so small to be a German Shepherd."
Zee isn't the largest Shepherd I've ever had, obviously on the smaller end of the standard. I'd guess around 20-22", maybe 50 pounds (she is slim, and does need to gain), at just under two years old.
I wonder if people are just accustomed to seeing dogs on the high end of the standard? Is it really that odd to see, what used to be considered, a normal sized Dog?
How big is your German Shepherd?

Not all GSDs are going to be huge. My male is 21 months and only weighs 66 lbs. His mother is probably 55lbs and his father is around 75lbs. I expect him to top out in the mid 70s when he is fully mature. I get a lot of people who comment on how much bigger their GSDs are. My opinion is that smaller is ok as long as they are healthy. Think about how much less stress are on their joints.

Nara is 25.5" and 88 lbs, and we still get the "she's too small to be a pure bred GSD." It's ignorance, or people only experienced with seeing oversized GSDs. Now people think the standard is that they're extra large dogs, when they're not supposed to be. Nara is West German bloodlines, and people have told me she's got to be a mix based on her size. Ummm, she's as pure of a German Shepherd as you can get, and she's from freakin' GERMANY! Haha. I call her a German German Shepherd. I think it's the American GSDs that people are used to seeing, as it seems the American dogs are larger, whereas the German dogs are more compact and stocky. Nara is slightly over the max end of the standard for a female, so I just laugh when I'm told she's too small to be a real GSD. She's actually TOO LARGE! Oh well.

I know from researching dogs and breeds that, on average, the larger the dog, the shorter the lifespan. I'd rather have a smaller, standard sized dog that lives 14 years instead of a large, oversized dog that lives 8. I want these dogs to last as long as possible with me!

Leo is 22 or 23 inches tall, weighs maybe 52 pounds, and is a long stock coat to boot. I've been told more than once by people who don't know about GSD that she simply can't be a purebred. Of course these tend to be the same people who ask if Ilka is a "insert breed here, usually a breed she bears no resembalence to". (Seriously, Ilka is black and white, stands 22 inches and weighs 48 pounds. No, she's not a Great Dane or Doberman Pinscher.)

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